Don't know if removal mainboard is even necessary. Could be something else, like another Vengevine + 4th Pod, but just testing for now. The deck doesn't have much for Twin G1 if I don't ramp out Frost.

Link? I don't know what the hell you're talking about. No one stole your stuff.

And Catowner, Wurmcoil simply does nothing VS Kut and stuff. My aggro&Control match up is good enough. What I need to work on and make sure I can get through is Twin, Kut, and Ascension.

You didn't steal. He really meant independently create. It's up on the team forums.

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Consider Venser. I have a Bant Pod list with 2 Vensers, and it's like getting double duty out of everything you Pod for. There have been several games where I've simply used Acidic Slimes and Metamorphs to take out their entire mana base in a couple of turns.

Consider Venser. I have a Bant Pod list with 2 Vensers, and it's like getting double duty out of everything you Pod for. There have been several games where I've simply used Acidic Slimes and Metamorphs to take out their entire mana base in a couple of turns.

Venser is very Midrange-ish. That's not what this deck is looking for.

Consider Venser. I have a Bant Pod list with 2 Vensers, and it's like getting double duty out of everything you Pod for. There have been several games where I've simply used Acidic Slimes and Metamorphs to take out their entire mana base in a couple of turns.

Venser is very Midrange-ish. That's not what this deck is looking for.

I'd also like to fit a 1-of GSZ in the MD.

Venser actually works surprisingly well. You don't need many (I have 2) basically as 'extra' Birthing Pods. Since almost all my core and pod chain generate some kind of card advantage effect when they come into play, Blinking just jams a bunch of extra utility and lets you play a little like UW tapout when you don't draw the Pod.

I wasn't satisfied with the Dismembers, seeing as we lose enough life as it is with Fetches and Birthing Pod. Added one Sunny T and a Venser in MD for some testing. I didn't run less Frost Titans cuz I don't wanna have a Sunny T over a Frost in my hand by turn 3, where I could ramp out a Titan. I'd rather be casting a Frost, although Sun Titan by that point could be super tech to re-occur fetch lands. Could you imagine a guy with Lotus Cobra, playing two fetch lands a turn by T4? Scary stuff if you ask me.

I could be wrong, and the best thing to do might be to go with 1 Frost and 1 Sunny T & 2x Venser, but I like big threat density when I have ramp available to me.

Thanks for advice so far!

EDIT: Wow. I feel stupid for not writing down on both of my posted lists that I run 4-of Squadron Hawk. Apologize!

I don't like the lack of 5 drop creatures. You have Solemns and Vengevines just wanting to get sacced, and those 5 drops become your good 6 drops. Good 5 drops would be Acidic Slime, Precursor Golemn, and Baneslayer Angel.

I don't like the lack of 5 drop creatures. You have Solemns and Vengevines just wanting to get sacced, and those 5 drops become your good 6 drops. Good 5 drops would be Acidic Slime, Precursor Golemn, and Baneslayer Angel.

There's no lack of 5 drops here. 3 Acidic Slimes is enough. I cycle through them 1-2 times a game, and after that I've pretty much won. No need for more.

And precursor seems terrible right now with all the Dismembers running around.

I actually really like Phantasmal Image here. I'm willing to bet it'd be the source of a great many shenanigans - it'd just have to be as at least a 2-3-of, as it's pretty hard to fetch 2-drops.

Now that Sun Titan is in the list, you're right, I could see it creature some REAL good shenanigans! I don't think I can fit 2-3 though.. I'll make it happen with one ;) There are times in the game where the BoP doesn't do anything in the late game.. might as well make it useful Thanks for the idea!

I really like the way its looking and am prolly gonna give this a few playtests myself. My only real issue is my lack of vengevines(and I'll prolly forgo getting them since we're only a short time from rotation). So what would you suggest tossing in their place?

I really like the way its looking and am prolly gonna give this a few playtests myself. My only real issue is my lack of vengevines(and I'll prolly forgo getting them since we're only a short time from rotation). So what would you suggest tossing in their place?

Unlike the past lists with Fauna, Vengevine isn't needed to make this deck run, he's just a great tool against control. They can't counter it, unless they're complete idiots, and wanna see it the next turn.

In the 4cc slots, if you can't run him, I'd go with an extra Solemn Simulacrum, and an Obstinate Baloth to fight aggro lists. You could also try out Thrun, but I just hardly keep my 4cc's on the field for very long, seeing as I usually sac the Vengevine to get a Acidic Slime, and re-occur him right afterwards, and you just don't get any sort of value out of saccing Thrun.

Don't know how Molten-Tail works here, but he's definitely worth a shot. He makes longer games easier.

Glad you like the list!

PS: Vengevine is also played in Legacy, so he's definitely worth getting your hands on ;)

I love Venser here - am I wrong thinking that he's probably one of the best reasons to go Bant? I'd probably play at least two, the other one probably over a 3-drop.

Also, I'd probably try to squeeze in a 1-of Viridian Corrupter MD. Having artifact destruction at more than one place in the curve has generally been pretty important in my Pod lists, and you don't really need that many of each 3-drop. Two of the best one, then a couple of 1-ofs should be fine.

Also, you should have the capacity to make your SB a little better. You're running three Baloths when two is plenty - you're usually fetching them with Pod anyway and having three is often reduntant. Running only two allows you to play two Gideons, which is probably much more important.

Lastly: I'd personally want to be able to SB in some removal if the need arises. A couple of Gideons can be fine, but I'd probably cut the last two Vengevines and the Naturalizes for a playset of Dismember or something - possibly Act of Aggression. Being able to sub in eight cards against the Twin MU is pretty important, and you might want something to turn the Valakut MU around as well.

I hope that some of this is helpful. =)

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Skide Fuld - Problem of Evil by frontsession
Currently playing
Standard: TurboJund
Legacy: Zoo
Block: Hahaha, good one!
1000th post on August 28, 2009 at 6:08PM

I love Venser here - am I wrong thinking that he's probably one of the best reasons to go Bant? I'd probably play at least two, the other one probably over a 3-drop.

Also, I'd probably try to squeeze in a 1-of Viridian Corrupter MD. Having artifact destruction at more than one place in the curve has generally been pretty important in my Pod lists, and you don't really need that many of each 3-drop. Two of the best one, then a couple of 1-ofs should be fine.

Also, you should have the capacity to make your SB a little better. You're running three Baloths when two is plenty - you're usually fetching them with Pod anyway and having three is often reduntant. Running only two allows you to play two Gideons, which is probably much more important.

Lastly: I'd personally want to be able to SB in some removal if the need arises. A couple of Gideons can be fine, but I'd probably cut the last two Vengevines and the Naturalizes for a playset of Dismember or something - possibly Act of Aggression. Being able to sub in eight cards against the Twin MU is pretty important, and you might want something to turn the Valakut MU around as well.

I hope that some of this is helpful. =)

I'll worry about the SB later on, but for now;I think that I could really cut Squadron Hawk. I'd keep them in if my 3-drops were important, but here not really. I think that the best reason to run them right now is if you play Swords and/or are control and need to have blockers. They're very underwhelming, and usually don't do much.

So, therefore I could cut those and run a 2nd Venser, and add a Viridian Corrupter mainboard, with 1-2of GSZ etc. I think Squadron Hawk is taking up some precious and important spots.

What are the advantages to going UWG over any other combo? I've been trying to figure out if I need a 3rd color in my UG build and haven't been able to decide between them all. Every one has its own upside. I think the best things for going White are Venser and dual lands. But Red and Black have some good stuff up the chain, especially black.

For black, I've been tinkering with Entomber Exarch, Vengeful Pharoah, Grave Titan, and the ability to legitimately pay for Dismember.

For red, I've been thinking Inferno Titan...and that's it hahaha at least that I can remember. Ok maybe now that I look at it, I'd have to go ExarchTwin Pod smash up if I did red.

What are the advantages to going UWG over any other combo? I've been trying to figure out if I need a 3rd color in my UG build and haven't been able to decide between them all. Every one has its own upside. I think the best things for going White are Venser and dual lands. But Red and Black have some good stuff up the chain, especially black.

For black, I've been tinkering with Entomber Exarch, Vengeful Pharoah, Grave Titan, and the ability to legitimately pay for Dismember.

For red, I've been thinking Inferno Titan...and that's it hahaha at least that I can remember. Ok maybe now that I look at it, I'd have to go ExarchTwin Pod smash up if I did red.

Thoughts for a Pod noob?

Every time I build a Pod deck without black, I find that I'm missing black a lot. In addition to the cards you pointed out, black also has Skinrender, Massacre Wurm, Phyrexian Rager, and one of the best recursive creatures in the form of Bloodghast. On top of all that, it gives you access to sideboard Memoricide, which just wrecks so many decks right now. Inferno Titan is certainly the best grab for red, but it is a very good one. It also has Manic Vandal and Tormentor Exarch if you want more Podable removal.

That said, white also has a lot of great options. Aside from Venser, Blade Splicer and Sun Titan are excellent, and you have some other interesting options like Archon of Justice, Archon of Redemption, Razor Hippogriff, and Elesh Norn.

So far the only Pod combo I haven't built is BGW, but I'm thinking it's about time to give it a try.

As for black, I've found that the engine 2-drop I like the most is actually Reassembling Skeleton - most lists have a hard time paying for Bloodghast, and Bloodghast can't block.

Hawks make for a pretty good 2cc Engine as well, though. But the most important thing if you're going for a 2cc engine is that your 3-drops are powerful and versatile. It worked wonders when I ran a 3cc package of Tuktuk, Manic Vandal and Cunning Sparkmage for opposing birds.

When running Blade Splicer, Oracle and Corrupter? Maybe. The spot in the curve doesn't feel as important, though.

Banner by zpikduM - typo also by zpikduM. =)
Skide Fuld - Problem of Evil by frontsession
Currently playing
Standard: TurboJund
Legacy: Zoo
Block: Hahaha, good one!
1000th post on August 28, 2009 at 6:08PM

I think that this would give you a good mix of threats and answers both MD and SB.

This may just be my personal preference. Again, I just hope that this is helpful in any way.

Looked up a few lists, and you could be correct on the part where I run too many 3cc drops. I'll look over the list again and see what I can change.

Thanks for all your help!

PS: Green Sun's Zenith is really a pet card.. it's not something everybody absolutely needs in their list, but I love to have it so I can easily get back on track after a board wipe. GSZ-ing for a Slime then saccing it into a Titan after a DoJ is huge. Although, 2 might be one too many. I'll be cutting one of those.

We got a place we're talking about those so I don't derail this thread?

There was a thread specifically for Jund Pod decks, then someone attempted to start a thread for all Pod decks and it lasted a little while. That thread is here. I've been wanting to make a more official Pod thread but I think it would just end up falling to the way side like the rest of them.

We got a place we're talking about those so I don't derail this thread?

Go ahead, you can also post the list here and talk about the highlights of the deck and the "techs" and engines you have you like.

Just as long as you don't make it a "Yeah, don't play Frufru's terribad Bant Pod lis, go Jund" type post, I'd love to see it.

I built a jund bpod list and it was ridiculous, imo.

We got a place we're talking about those so I don't derail this thread?

There was a thread specifically for Jund Pod decks, then someone attempted to start a thread for all Pod decks and it lasted a little while. That thread is here. I've been wanting to make a more official Pod thread but I think it would just end up falling to the way side like the rest of them.

The idea of making a clean Pod thread with color combos is very good. Like you said, someone made one, but it was honestly terrible, and the OP didn't explain what Pod lists should do. In addition to this, people weren't sure about what exactly they should do with Birthing Pod in their decks.

People tend to make pod lists that only work when Pod is on the field, which I think is bad. So, if you want to we could get together and type up a nice thread.

People tend to make pod lists that only work when Pod is on the field, which I think is bad. So, if you want to we could get together and type up a nice thread.

This. To me, the difference between a good and bad pod list is this. But as i'm not tinkering with pod lists too often, could you explain just what that difference is? What makes a good pod list still good without drawing into pod, and what makes a bad pod list bad without it?

People tend to make pod lists that only work when Pod is on the field, which I think is bad. So, if you want to we could get together and type up a nice thread.

This. To me, the difference between a good and bad pod list is this. But as i'm not tinkering with pod lists too often, could you explain just what that difference is? What makes a good pod list still good without drawing into pod, and what makes a bad pod list bad without it?

A bad Pod lists is a list made with chains of 1ofs that are only good in some situation. Obviously, you could argue that Fauna lists are the same, but I think that it's much easier to catch up in the game once you draw your Fauna, since you can discard and go back on any curve. Pod doesn't allow you to do that, you have to work with what you've got on the field, and if what you have on the field are low costs, then have ways to go.

Another example is a list that just doesn't work FAST enough without the Pod. The deck will usually just play ramp spells.. a Bomb that can get rid of, end of game for you, whereas if you draw pod, you start hitting all those cool 1ofs you have and start playing a game. That right there is just bad in my opinion.

Then again, it also shows the different play styles. I would say that if you're gonna make a straight up toolbox Birthing Pod deck, I would recommend running a pair of Green Sun's Zenith. It'll allow you to keep up with games even without the Pod.

EDIT: Also, I'd like to say that for the past Fauna lists, they mostly either had white in them and had a Stoneforge-Hawk package as the mainback up plan, or were agressive U/G ramp decks. Here it's basically the same thing. You have to either make an agressive deck that ramps into big things by playing Lotus Cobra by having blue to ensure your fetchland drops, or you need to play a resilient game plan that can keep you alive, then tempo out your opponent. I'd say that my current Bant Pod can either ramp out, or Tempo out my opponent by dropping Slimes and tapping their creatures with Frost.

I don't think a deck full of silver bullets makes it bad, just a lot more difficult to play correctly. Its pretty powerful when you can chain into tutorable answers to almost everything. The trade-off is that the more 1 ofs you have, the more pod chains there are, and the more difficult the game becomes. If you use the wrong chain at the wrong time, you can handle the current situation, but really hurt yourself in later turns.

Basically, the awesome thing about Pod lists were that all of your creatures passed the Jace test. Either they had awesome 187-abilities, were too small to realistically want to bounce or were called Vengevine.

Now, you're trying to find the sweet spot in the metagame. You want to be able to beat aggro, control and combo, without necessarily having insane MU's against all of them. One good MU and a couple of average ones is cool. Even one less than stellar MU is acceptable. You want your deck to be filled with cards that are just good. Which then become stellar when Pod is on the field.

Basically, Acidic Slime is a good card. Obstinate Baloth and Sea-Gate Oracle are good cards. Squadron Hawks are good - especially when you're also running a couple of Swords or something. Tuktuk, Vengevine, Bloodghast... all are powerful cards on their own. Birthing Pod basically becomes a CA machine. At least +1 CA every turn.

The trick is to find a number of cards which are made a lot better by the metagame. Back when Jace wasn't banned, cards like Vengevine, Cunning Sparkmage, Manic Vandal and even Hex Parasite were very powerful threats all-round, and easily maindecked. Once you add Birthing Pod to the list, madness ensued.

Right now? I'd want the ability to put a clock on combo decks while having enough hate to keep them from killing you until you can seal the deal. I'd want solid blockers that can easily handle both threats like GG and Ember Hauler and have a high enough toughness survive a Searing Blaze, or still at least break even on CA when Blaze is applied. I'd want to have enough versatile threats to beat control both in the early and middle game while having the punch to survive even in the late game.

What exactly that means, I'm not sure yet. Maybe we have the tools to make the work. I'll think some more and get back to you. =)

Banner by zpikduM - typo also by zpikduM. =)
Skide Fuld - Problem of Evil by frontsession
Currently playing
Standard: TurboJund
Legacy: Zoo
Block: Hahaha, good one!
1000th post on August 28, 2009 at 6:08PM

I don't know how your twin matchups go, but Ive found the deciever exarch into stonehorn dignitary into acidic slime chain to be pretty effective. If you have venser you can infinitely deny combat steps too which is pretty annoying for them as well. Some food for thought.